Not transported to the 'Farthest Reaches' (3/5)
From May 3, 2011
Ah, the sixties... when science fiction was making the transition from space science fiction to social science fiction, some still held to the reigns on the earlier era. Stephen Goldin's anthology The Alien Condition (1973) spoke to this change of focus while highlighting the societies in alien civilizations. This 1968 collection is passable for its space theme but ultimately hinges on the popularity of the twelve authors (eleven of which I know by name). However, I don't
think it accomplishes what the editor expected when he called for: an
exhibition of extreme escapism which science fiction offers its'
readers. To quote, these stories should be "set only in farthest reaches
of space beyond our solar system, in unimaginably distant galaxies
which reflect all those qualities which Mr. Clarke so rightly claimed as
our true goals in space." Meh.
I don't know what the editor, Joseph Elder,
was known for in the science fiction community, but it appears his only
other contribution has been another collection entitled Eros in Orbit (1973), which looks pretty sleazy... something you expect from the science fiction in Playboy (From the "S" File [1971]).
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The Worm That Flies (Brian
W. Aldiss, 1968) - 2/5 - A stone-collecting immortal worm
on a far-flung planet around a dying star amid a galaxy of perishing
novas with philosophical trees and temperamental gorilla-men... I'm not
sure where Aldiss was going with this. 20 pages
Kyrie (Poul Anderson, 1968) - 4/5 - Ship approaches a supernova and onboard is a human
telepath linked to a energy-being who is being employed to probe the
intricacies of the nova but at what cost to the telepath? 13 pages
Tomorrow is a Million Years (J.G.
Ballard, 1966) - 4/5 - Shipwrecked man on a
desert planet hallucinates fictional nautical ships while awaiting
rescue. The time dilation involved means he'll arrive back home seven
years after leaving, and hopefully to a brighter future. 13 pages
Pond Water (John
Brunner, 1968) - 4/5 - Alexander, the ultimate robot, is given a
supreme metallic body and a expansive knowledge, allowing it to control
earth, the colonies and eventually the galaxy but there in one thing it
will never control. 13 pages
The Dance of the Changer
and the Three (Terry Carr, 1968) - 2/5 - A gas planet home to energy-beings is also the
source of very heavy metals, but the locals aren't so logical or clear
and this doesn't stop a mining company from coming in and, eventually,
having to deal with the consequences. 16 pages
Crusade (Arthur C. Clarke, 1968) - 4/5 - Perpetually mid-galactic superconductive sentient planet
sends near-absolute zero envoys o regional galaxies in search for life
but only finds one race liquid hydrogen oxide beings. 6 pages
Ranging (John
Jakes, 1968) - 3/5 - Teenaged galactic surveyors jump millions of
light-years to plot the neighborhood but they have ambitions to jump
further- to trillions of light-years, if it just wasn't for the
oversight of the Monitors. 15 pages
Mind Out of
Time (Keith Laumer, 1968) - 3/5 - FLT craft zips beyond Mars orbit on her maiden voyage but
the pilots have the crazy idea to hammer the throttle and see where (or
when or how) it takes them. 15 pages
The
Inspector (James McKimmey, 1968) - 5/5 - Earth Central investigates the extra-vehicular orbital
death of a famous young man of the colonized planet Tnp, who are
experiencing a pragmatic Greek-era revival. 20 pages
To the Dark Star (Robert
Silverberg, 1968) - 2/5 - A trio of scientists (one human,
one pan-human, one alien) approach and explore an ancient derelict of a
collapsed star, where the humans succumb to petty bickering. (You'll
have to suspend any knowledge you have of collapsed stars and
supernovae). 12 pages
A Night in Elf Hill (Norman Spinrad, 1968) - 3/5 -
A space merchant nears mandatory retirement after eighteen years of
service and writes a letter to his brother begging him out of
returning to a planet which hosts a secret relic offering the
unequalled joys of a lost race. 14 pages
Sulwen's
Planet (Jack Vance, 1968) - 3/5 - Bickering comparative linguists beset themselves with the
chance to research two alien derelicts on a deserted planet. 15 pages
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